Charles earnest austin



(No Model.)

0. E. AUSTIN.

REIN HOLDER.

No. 360,264. Patented Mar. 29, 1887.

INVENTOR 16 6; M

Y Mum ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES M u, warms. Photo Lvlhogmpher. Wnsn kll llmrno STATES CHARLES EARNEST AUSTIN, OF SALMOL FALLS, NE? HAMPSHIRE, ASSIG NOR TO HIMSELF AND SAMUEL GILMAN PHILPOT, OF SAME PLACE.

RElN-HOLDER.

SLDECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,26 dated March 29, 1887.

Application filed Xovcmbcr 30,1886, Serial K0922030 1.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES EARNEST Ans TIN, of Salmon Falls, in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and Improved Rein-Holder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a holder for supporting driving-reins at points between an animals bit and the terrets or rein-loops on the saddle of a harness; and the invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, efficient, and durable device of this character.

The invention consists in certain novel featu res of construction and combinations of parts of the rein-holder, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side view of a harnessed horse, and illustrates the manner of using the improved rein-holder. Fig. 2 is a front View of the reiaholder, drawn about full size. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal sectional view of the holder, taken on the line a: 00, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a rear face view of the rein-holder; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the holder, taken on the line 3 3 Fig. 3.

The rein-holder consists of a plate of elastic metal cut or stamped out to form a body or base-plate, A, opposite end tongues, B O, and attaching lips or tags D D. The tongue B is shorter than the tongue 0, so that when the former is bent over and in front of the baseplate A its end will stand about in line with the center of the base-plate, and when the tongue 0 is bent over from the other end of the base-plate it will lap upon the tongue B and extend nearly to the end bend, 1), thereof, and the extremity c of the tongue 0 is bent outward a little from the face of the tongue B, to allow the rein to be passed betweenthe tongues B O and into the space E, between the tongues and base-plate of the holder, and this space E is intended to be of proper size to cause the rein slipped into the holder to be firmly held or clamped fiatwise between the elastic tongues and the base-plate A of the holder (No model.)

The lips or tags D D, which are simply stamped back from the base-plate A of the holder, are passed through holes made for them in the neck or shoulder strap F, which supports the breast-collar G of the harness, and the protruding ends of the tags are then clinched or hammered down at the inner face of the neck-strap, to attach the rein-holder thereto in the position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, one of the rein-holders being fixed to each side of the neck-strap, thereby allowing the reins H, passing from each end of the bit I to the saddle terrets or hooks J at opposite sides of the horse, to be snapped into the rein-holders, and which may be very quickly and easily done.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the base-plate A of the rein-holder is pressed into concave-convex form transversely, and its concaved face will lie against the neck-strap F, to which it is secured, and the tongues B O of the holder are also pressedinto concavo convex form transversely and present their convexed faces to the base-plate. The base-plate A thus will not only fit very closely at its scalloped or ornamental margins a to the face of the neck-strap, but the rein H in the holder cannot catch upon the margin of the plate A and be scratched thereby. Furthermore, the convexed inner faces of the holdertongues B O, which hold the rein, will not scratch or cut the rein.

It is obvious that rein-holders made as above described may be nickel, or silver, or gold plated, and will ornament the harness to which they are attached, and as regards utility the holder prevents twisting of the rein slipped into them, and also prevents chafing of the neckstrap by the rein, and also prevents wearing the hair off the horse s neck,which occurs when the 0 rein is slipped under the neck-strap, and, what is most important of all, the holders, by their directsupport of and clamping action or tension on the reins, prevent them from dropping in loops between the bit and the tenets when the horse is standing in harness, and consequently prevents catching of the reins 0n the shafts or thills of avehicle to which the horse is hitched, and also obviates the necessity of pulling in loose rein when the driver enters the vehicle 1o:

plate A and bent over the front thereof, and providing a rein-space, E, and the tongue 0, I 5 lapped upon the tongue B and having an outbent end, a, and the opposing faces of the baseplate and tongues made convex transversely, and said plateA provided with attaching lips or tags-D D, stamped from the body of the 20 plate, substantially as shown and described.

CHARLES EA RNEST AUSTIN.

Witnesses:

MARY S. MORTON, SARA J. MORTON. 

